In a video posted by Sputnik, Lebanese internal security forces (ISF) can be seen wearing civilian clothing while opening gunfire at protesters on Thursday, the fourth night of continuous clashes in Tripoli.
Some members of the ISF, which is the national police of Lebanon responsible for ensuring the safety of civilians and peace in the country, dropped the uniform and went shooting straight at unarmed people, who threw rocks at the security forces.
Many in Lebanon have been left without an income since a full lockdown was imposed earlier this month in another attempt to halt the surge in COVID-19 cases. The people’s outcries for help have been too many and heartbreaking across the country.
In the Lebanese northern capital, which has been reeling with poverty for decades and fast impoverishment since 2019, the people couldn’t bear it anymore and took to the streets to make their complaints heard even louder.
Their protests, which started peacefully, turned into clashes with the riot police and Al-Nour Square into what resembled a warzone. The people’s rage has ever since been growing further over the state’s lack of action in the face of Lebanon’s breaking point.
The ruling parties have been unable to agree on the formation of a new government since August after Beirut was blasted by one of the biggest non-nuclear explosions in history.
During the same night in which the video by Sputnik was shot and released, 500 injuries were recorded and a 30-year-old man, Omar Tayba, succumbed to his injuries inflicted by the riot police using live bullets.
His death ignited outrage across the country, with people taking to the streets in solidarity with the Tripolitans and the revolutionaries. Reactions increased with the death of a second victim of the riot police’s ill-use of their live ammunition in Tripoli.
Lockdown’s pressure has been a worldwide issue with the still-untamed global pandemic, and there have been protests in some other countries.
However, Lebanon was already crashing economically long before the pandemic and, unlike other countries, Lebanon hasn’t provided an economic safety net or any assistance for its people to just meet the minimum essentials while on lockdown.
Interestingly enough, a longtime Tripolitan politician decided to take action, which is to arm himself to protect himself and his multiple institutions from the people protesting. In fact, his armed men were seen in the streets by his buildings.
Reacting to Tripoli’s intense protests was also Hassan Diab, the caretaker prime minister. Diab vowed to crack down on the protesters and pledged food aid to 50,000 Tripolitan families with yet no indication on when these aids will start.
It remains that Tripoli, the 2nd largest city of Lebanon, has an approximate population of 730,000, most of whom are under duress, not counting Lebanon’s overall population.